Your Daily Computer Security Tips

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It is said that there is nothing we can do about the first two, death and taxes. But now, for the first time in history, many of us have to think about what happens to our Internet activities and digital legacy after we are gone. For example, most of us have joined a variety of Web sites, and have several email accounts. Are the IDs and passwords written down somewhere? Would your spouse know where to find this list?

If you are like many people, you probably have dozens, or even hundreds of old emails parked in your inboxes. Have you specified in your will how they are to be handled? I have not, and I bet you did not either. Same goes for Instant Messaging. Some IM providers save all your messages, and make them searchable. But just who will search and dispose of them after you are no longer available?

If your email resides on your computer, anyone may be able to view it, without so much as a by your leave, let alone an ID or password. Anything private in there that you would prefer others not see? I thought so. Now what about all the images you have stored on your PC, or at an online photo-sharing or storage service? What happens to them? Some of your photos may be worth money. Does anyone except you know they exist?

To begin with, you should delete your accounts at any Web sites or email clients that you are not using, if possible. Some email providers will delete or deactivate your account after as little as 30 – 60 days of inactivity. Other programs and Web sites make it difficult or impossible to close your account. Give it a try anyway. Next, do you have a PayPal account? A blog? A Web site that is producing income?

These will have to be sold or terminated by someone who is fairly computer literate, without making a lot of customers mad. Do not forget the domain names themselves. These could be worth a tidy sum, especially if they were attracting a lot of traffic. This needs to be done promptly after your demise, before your ISP cancels them for non-payment of the hosting and domain registration fees.

Here is another sticky area, MP3 players. Your iPod may now hold thousands of songs. If you acquired all this music (or most of it) legally, that is a very significant investment. Perhaps you should mention in your will, who should get your music player. But hold on a minute. You paid cold, hard cash for this music; however, it is licensed only to you. Can you transfer it to another? You should be able to. Legally acquired music should be yours to do with as you please. But the law may not agree. Talk to your lawyer about these issues when you make your will.

Bottom line? We all need to bring some order and planning to our digital lives. This will save our survivors a lot of surprises, headaches and expense. Make a list of all your services, programs and Web sites, and add it to your will. Identify who you would like to wrap up your digital life, and who should get any money resulting from the windup. In the future, only join Web sites you need and will use. Unsubscribe immediately from all others.

Syd Tash is a longtime computer security consultant, author, and founder of
The SaferSurfing Project. He has been keeping Web surfers like you safe and secure since the last century. Find out how to keep yourself safe online and do your part for a more secure Internet. Join the SaferSurfing Project here => http://SaferSurfingProject.com

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